Agriculture Bears Major Brunt of Disaster Impacts

Agriculture Bears Major Brunt of Disaster Impacts

Nearly a quarter of damages wrought by natural disasters on the developing world are borne by the agricultural sector according to initial results from a new Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) study released at the UN World Conference for Disaster Risk Reduction.

Twenty-two percent of all damages inflicted by natural hazards such as drought, floods storms or tsunamis are registered within the agriculture sector, as revealed by FAO’s analysis of 78 post-disaster needs assessments in 48 developing countries spanning the 2003-2013 period.

These damages and losses are often incurred by poor rural and semi-rural communities without insurance and lacking the financial resources needed to regain lost livelihoods. Yet only 4.5 percent of post-disaster humanitarian aid in the 2003-2013 period targeted agriculture.

FAO’s 22 percent figure represents only damages reported via post-disaster risk assessments, so while indicative of scale, the actual impact is likely even higher. To arrive at a closer estimate of the true financial cost of disasters to developing world agriculture FAO compared decreases in yields during and after disasters with yield trends in 67 countries affected by (at least one) medium- to larger-scale events between 2003 and 2013. The final tally: $70 billion in damages to crops and livestock over that 10 year period. Asia was the most affected region, with estimated losses adding up to $28 billion, followed by Africa at $26 billion.

“Agriculture and all that it encompasses is not only critical for our food supply, it also remains a main source of livelihoods across the planet. While it is a sector at risk, agriculture also can be the foundation upon which we build societies that are more resilient and better equipped to deal with disasters,” said FAO Director-General José Graziano da Silva.

“This is why building resilience of livelihoods to threats and crises is one of FAO’s top priorities,” he added.

Agriculture remains a key sector

Worldwide, the livelihoods of 2.5 billion people depend on agriculture. These small-scale farmers, herders, fishers and forest-dependent communities generate more than half of global agricultural production and are particularly at risk from disasters that destroy or damage harvests, equipment, supplies, livestock, seeds, crops and stored food.

Beyond the obvious consequences on peoples’ food security, the economies and development trajectories of entire regions and nations can be altered when disasters hit agriculture. The sector accounts for as much as 30 percent of national GDP in countries like Burkina Faso, Burundi, Central African Republic, Chad, Ethiopia, Kenya, Mali, Mozambique, the Niger, among others.

There are also spill-over losses in agriculture-dependent subsectors, and significant consequences for trade flows. Countries surveyed experienced an increase in agriculture imports to the tune of $18.9 billion and a decrease in agriculture exports of $14.9 billion following natural disasters, between 2003 and 2013.

Key facts

From FAO’s analysis of damages reported via needs assessments

Based only on damages reported in 78 post-disaster risk assessments in 48 countries covering the 2003-2013 period, losses of $140 billion were registered by all economic sectors – $30 billion of these were to agriculture (crops, livestock, forestry, fisheries).

When droughts occur, agriculture absorbs up to 84 percent of all economic impacts. Within the agricultural sector, 42 percent of assessed losses were to crops ($13 billion) – with floods the main culprit responsible for 60 percent of crop damages followed by storms (23 percent of crop damages).

Livestock is the second most affected subsector after crops, accounting for 36 percent of all damage and losses, for a total of $11 billion during the 2003 – 2013 period.

Out of the 78 disasters assessed, 45 involved impacts to the fisheries subsector ($1.7 billion, or 6 percent all damages born by the agricultural sector). The lion’s share – 70 percent – was caused by tsunamis, typically infrequent events. Storms such as hurricanes and typhoons account for roughly 16 percent of the economic impact on fisheries, followed by floods (10 percent).

The forestry sector incurred $737 million in damages and losses, representing 2.4 percent of the total for the agricultural sector.

From FAO’s expanded analysis

FAO also compared decreases in yields during and after disasters with typical yield trends in 67 different countries affected by at least one medium- to larger-scale event between 2003 and 2013, in an expanded analysis, in order to arrive at a closer estimate of financial costs.

Based on this expanded analysis, losses and damages to crops and livestock over that period are estimated to total $70 billion. Data gaps mean the total is likely higher still.

82% of production losses were caused by drought (44 percent) and floods (39 percent).

Asia was the most affected region, with estimated losses adding up to $28 billion, followed by Africa at $26 billion.

In Africa, between 2003 and 2013 there were 61 drought years in Sub-Saharan Africa affecting 27 countries and 150 million people. FAO estimates that 77 percent of all agricultural production losses suffered worldwide due to drought occurred in those 27 Sub-Saharan countries, with losses adding up to $23.5 billion.

FAO based on this report has launched a special facility aimed at channeling

New facility for disaster risk reduction in agriculture

To help countries better prepare for and respond to disasters affecting agriculture, FAO today launched a new facility aimed at channeling technical expertise and financial resources towards resilience building in areas where it is most needed. This will help countries better equip their food production sectors to reduce risk exposure, limit impacts, and be better prepared to cope with disasters. The facility will work to mainstream disaster risk reduction in agriculture at all levels through diverse activities.

“With this new effort, we are aiming to limit peoples’ exposure to risks, avoid or reduce impacts where possible, and enhance preparedness to respond quickly when disasters occur,” said Graziano da Silva.

Studies have shown that for every one dollar spent on disaster risk reduction, as much as four dollars are returned in terms of avoided or diminished impacts, he noted. The work of the new facility will be guided by FAO’s Framework Programme on Disaster Risk Reduction for Food and Nutrition Security